Johnson's buzzer beater lifts Hawks to victory

ATLANTA — Joe Johnson’s 18-footer at the buzzer lifted the Atlanta Hawks to a 90-89 victory over the league-worst Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night.

Minnesota, which lost its fifth straight to drop to 2-15, had a one-point lead after Marko Jaric’s laying with 2.2 seconds left.

However, after an Atlanta timeout, Johnson took the inbound pass at the top of the key and dribbled to his right past Timberwolves guard Sebastian Telfair and pulled up to shoot over Michael Doleac’s outstretched arms.

Despite having their reserves outscore Atlanta’s by 46 points, the Timberwolves lost for the 22nd time in 24 games overall since winning at New York last April 6.